The Kansas City Chiefs have just one more practice left before their preseason kicks off against the Los Angeles Rams on August 15. But before that, a former Super Bowl champion shared the strict mandate to keep their franchise quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, safe.

“As a defensive player, Spagnuolo, their coordinator, he’s sitting in meetings, and he is threatening the guys on the defensive side of the ball. Do not touch Patrick Mahomes. Do not get close to him. If it means losing your rep, lose the freaking rep,” Super Bowl champion Jason McCourty said on ESPN’s Get Up.

After being injured over seven months ago against the Los Angeles Chargers, Mahomes was cleared for training camp. The star quarterback is pushing himself to be back for Week 1 of the regular season. So no amount of mishaps during practice should take place to derail that plan.

During Tuesday’s practice, Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce for the ninth straight year together. However, to reach this stage, No. 15 had to pass some tests before Dr. Dan Cooper.

“I had to pass a test that was pretty hard,” Mahomes said on August 8. “Then, they made me go out there and do a lot of cutting and jumping and all that different type of stuff. I’m a competitor. So, when it comes to a test of physical ability, I wanted to go out there and do it, but he wasn’t going to take it easy on me. He was going to push me to my limit and see what I got.”

Mahomes still has a knee brace on to protect it, and the quarterback is getting used to it.

“I forget about it sometimes,” he admitted. “I try to be smart, but you get through camp, and you’re trying to compete. Practices are long, and you want to win the rep. So, there are times when I do forget about it and just play football. Which is a good thing. I’ll have to do that again whenever we get to the regular season.”

The three-time Super Bowl champion also stated that he has to work with what he has right now and hopes he is “OK to go out there and play Week 1.”

However, we most likely will not get to see the star quarterback on the field in the preseason opener. Head coach Andy Reid shared that there is a “good chance where I don’t play him.” Reid added that the percentages are leaning that way, and he remains unsure if Mahomes will feature in the second or third preseason games either.

Anyway, preseason is not for playing the first team. It is for teams to see who makes the 53-man roster. But that is good news for quarterback Justin Fields, who could get a chance to suit up in the preseason opener.

Reports indicate Fields has already taken first-team reps in camp, a sign he may start against the Rams. Apart from him, the Chiefs also have options in Chris Oladokun and rookie Garrett Nussmeier.